MP secures ministerial meeting over cross-border treatment delays

Mark Mansfield

Patients in Powys could be facing longer waits for treatment than people living just across the border in England, despite being treated at the same hospitals, a Welsh MP has claimed.

David Chadwick, the Welsh Liberal Democrat MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe, has secured a commitment from a UK health minister to discuss delays affecting Powys residents who rely on English hospitals for treatment.

Speaking during Health Questions in the House of Commons, Mr Chadwick raised concerns about Powys Teaching Health Board’s decision to extend waiting times for some patients receiving treatment in England.

Powys is unique in Wales in that it does not have its own district general hospital, meaning many residents depend on hospitals in neighbouring English counties, including Herefordshire and Shropshire, for routine and specialist care.

Mr Chadwick told ministers that some patients were facing longer waits despite capacity being available for treatment to be carried out sooner.

He argued that residents were being disadvantaged because of where they live and warned that some had been left waiting in pain for operations that could otherwise have gone ahead.

In response, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health Innovation and Safety Preet Kaur Gill agreed to meet with the MP to discuss the issue further.

Mr Chadwick has been campaigning against the policy since it was first proposed and has repeatedly raised concerns that Powys residents are being unfairly disadvantaged compared with patients living just across the border.

Following the exchange in Parliament, he said: “Powys is unique in Wales because we do not have a district general hospital. For many of my constituents, hospitals in Hereford, Shrewsbury and elsewhere in England are not a choice, they are a necessity.

“That is why it is so frustrating that patients have been left waiting longer for treatment, despite capacity existing to treat them sooner. Many people have contacted me after seeing their operations delayed while living with pain, discomfort and uncertainty.”

He welcomed the minister’s agreement to hold talks, describing it as an opportunity to bring together the UK Government, Welsh Government and Powys Teaching Health Board.

“This is an important opportunity to find a solution that puts patients first and ends this two-tiered system,” he said.

“No patient should face longer waits simply because they live on one side of the border rather than the other. Healthcare should be based on need, not geography.”

Sustainable

The health board has previously said that treatment for Powys patients attending English hospitals is funded through NHS Wales, creating different commissioning arrangements to those that apply to patients living in England.

It has argued that services must be commissioned within available budgets while ensuring care remains sustainable in the long term.

Mr Chadwick is also calling for a wider review of healthcare funding arrangements for rural communities that rely on services across the Wales-England border.